Only one-quarter of Ontario employers compliant with ESA after inspection blitz

Most common monetary violations include public holidays, overtime and vacation with pay

03/15/2017|hrreporter.com|Last Updated: 03/17/2017

The Ministry of Labour building in Toronto. CREDIT: Google Street View

After conducting inspections of 104 Ontario employers that had previous employment standards violations, Ministry of Labour officers found only 27 were fully compliant.

From Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, 2016, the officers conducted inspections of workplaces in the province, taking a zero tolerance approach.

They focused primarily on sectors where there is a high rate of precarious employment, according to the ministry, including professional services, building services, amusement and recreation industries, personal care services and other sectors with repeat violators.

Seventy-seven employers were not compliant, found the government, with 269 compliance tools issued, meaning compliance orders (227), notices of contravention (15), tickets (27) or orders to pay wages. The most common monetary violations were public holidays, overtime and vacation with pay.

The most common non-monetary violations were hours of work, record-keeping and vacation pay.

A total of $125,267 for employees was recovered by the ministry. All employers voluntarily paid the money owed.